10 cent fee for grocery bags proposed in Cuyahoga County

The Cuyahoga County Council will hear a proposal that would charge customers 10 cents for every plastic bag they use.

Author:
WKYC

Published:
9:53 AM EDT October 10, 2017

CLEVELAND -- Your grocery bill may soon get a bit more expensive in Cuyahoga County.

Customers may soon pay 10 cents for each plastic bag they use at grocery stores, retailers and convenience stores under proposed legislation being considered by Cuyahoga County Council.

"Cuyahoga County Council has a compelling public interest in discouraging the wasteful use of disposable bags, mitigating the negative impact disposable bags have on our environment, and in defraying the costs of preventing and remediating environmental hazards," council's agenda states.

The money collected from the bags would go to the Environmental Remediation Fund, created to combat pollution and promote sustainability.

The proposal will go through its first reading Tuesday night, and there are several more steps until it would be put up for a vote.

If passed, the bag fee would go into effect on July 1, 2018.

Council defines a "carryout bag" in which the fee would be imposed as "a paper or plastic bag provided by a retail establishment to a customer at point of sale to carry purchased items."

The following bags would NOT be included with the extra 10 cent fee:

- A bag the customer brings with them.

- A newspaper bag.

- A bag provided by a pharmacist containing a prescription drug.

- A bag used to package a bulk item or to contain or wrap a perishable item.

- A bag that a restaurant gives a customer to take prepared or leftover food.

-A bag intended for use as a dry cleaning, garbage, pet waste or yard waste.